SNOW and plummeting temperatures outside have meant busy nights with an extreme weather response this week for the North Shore's homeless shelter.
"We've had it going all week," said Dave Newberry, community liaison for the shelter. "It's open until further notice."
Between eight and 10 extra people have been bedding down each night on mats laid out in the shelter's common area.
That's more than usually head indoors when the cold weather hits, said Newberry - but it's also been colder than usual.
In the past five days, the highest the mercury managed to creep was about three degrees on Jan. 15, while the coldest nights plunged to -6.6 C overnight between Wednesday and Thursday. Many areas of the North Shore also saw several centimetres of snow accumulate on both the 13th and 18th.
When temperatures dip below freezing - or there is cold rain with temperatures around 4 C for three days straight - the shelter is funded for 20 extra people a night, who are provided sleeping mats and access to its services, on top of its regular 45-bed roster.
As a low-barrier shelter, people are welcome to bring their pets to the North Shore shelter. Even people who have previously been kicked out for bad behaviour are let in during extreme cold, said Newberry.
During the recent cold snap, outreach workers at both the shelter and other agencies like the Salvation Army and Canadian Mental Health have stepped up efforts to bring people inside.
"It's always dangerous for people to stay outside," said Newberry. "There are still some people who prefer to be alone."
Newberry added the shelter always welcomes donations of warm men's jackets, hats and gloves at this time of year.
On Thursday, Environment Canada was predicting a possible last blast of cold weather overnight and into Friday morning, with wind chill values dipping to -20 C.
Meteorologists warned the Lower Mainland could see snowfall of five to 10 centimetres, mixed with freezing rain, before temperatures warm up and rain begins later Friday and into the weekend.
Meteorologist David Jones said so far, there's nothing that unusual about the January weather and no temperature records have been set locally.
